Senate Bill 171, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Tutvedt (R-Kalispell) would eliminate the widely used energy conservation, alternative energy and geothermal systems tax credits. The bill has passed committee and is headed for a full vote of the Senate as soon as tomorrow.

Please take a minute right now and urge your Senator to vote “NO” on SB 171.

Good news! SB 343, which would have imposed new fees on net metered customers and reduced the rate at which they are credited for the clean energy they produce, was tabled on Thursday in the Senate Energy Committee. For all intents and purposes, it’s dead. Many thanks to all who submitted comments opposing this bill.Unfortunately, two bills that would have expanded renewable energy opportunities were also voted down in committee this week. HB 489 would have expanded the net metering law to the rural electric cooperatives, and HB 485 would have made some modest expansions to net metering and required a Public Service Commission study of its costs and benefits. Both bills were tabled in the House Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications committee on Wednesday.

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